Final Draft Big Idea Proposal

BIG IDEA PROPOSAL

Michelle Kuecks
Rowland Solano
Renee Ali-Samhoul

Purpose:
The aim of this project is to expand the existing Career Development Department at Nova Southeastern University. The goal of this project is to create a team whose one and only job is to find Nova students a job. Unlike a bi-annual job fair or computerized job search, this program will be proactive and ongoing. Nova’s expanded staff of recruiters will go into the community continuously marketing students. Rather than wait every six months to bring employers on campus, this program will maintain contact with employers so that when a position opens up, the employer will turn to Nova students first. In light of the recent severe downturn in the economy and high unemployment rate, students have an urgent need to find a job after graduation. This program is innovative: no other private or public university in South Florida has a staff devoted solely to recruit the recruiters.

Currently, the Career Development Faculty is limited to assisting students in writing resumes, preparing for job interviews, and directing students to library resources dealing with career planning. These functions serve students, but Nova can do more. The new program will also serve all senior and graduating students by targeting each academic major. This is a critical distinction from a traditional job fair or employment website, which will bring a handful of jobs in some majors while others are virtually neglected.

Students will be notified of job openings through email in accordance with their chosen major and college. Currently, certain majors such as accounting, business administration, economics, and education are well represented at job fairs and on job placement websites. But the downside is that many of Nova’s graduates whose degrees are from very successful colleges within the university are either underrepresented or not represented at all. By having a recruiter assigned to each college, this program is inclusive of all colleges. Job placement should be as diverse as Nova’s areas of study. Each degree should translate into a career. This approach is novel, but simple.

Timeline:
The amount of time necessary to implement this program will take up to one year. In order to establish this program three phases will need to be accomplished. During the first phase, a staff will need to be hired to carry out the functions of employment recruiting. It is estimated that this process could take up to three months to complete. Once the staff is in place, phase two will begin which involves obtaining approval from University Officials for funding this initiative, and creating general objectives and policies to run the program. Contemporaneously, a marketing campaign will begin on campus to student groups, college/major representatives, and academic societies. This process will take approximately three months. Finally, during stage three of the project, the actual recruitment of prospective employers will take place. Initially this function will take six months to get up and running. Thereafter, the employer recruiting process will be on-going in order to achieve success of the program.

Publicity/Engagement Plan:
In order to engage the student body, the program will send students emails to advise them that certain employers are going to be on campus and to advertise job openings. The goal will be to advise each and every student within the Nova student body of job openings that are relevant to a student’s interests and academic major. The email notification will take place according to the student’s major, department, club, organization, interest, and/or academic society.

Students may also register their prospective job interest with the office of Career Development.
Through an email notification system, students will be matched with relevant employment opportunities. It will bridge the gap between students and employers. This program will be a great improvement over existing Career Fairs on campus by bringing in a wider range of employers from a variety of companies and connecting jobs with students. The goal of the program will be to match students to employers on campus.

Another unique aspect of this program would be to utilize empty classrooms for employers to conduct job interviews on campus. Once a student has been notified of a prospective job, the employer will screen students and select students for an on-campus interview. Students will be notified through the email system of the time, date and place of the interview.

Itemized Budget:
ITEM
DESCRIPTION
COST
Staff
Director’s Salary
Program Supervisor (1)
Program Coordinators (3)
Department Employer Relations Advisors(8)
(Representative for Each College)
Secretary (1)
IT Personnel (1)
Trainer (1)
Subtotal in Annual Salaries:
$550,000.00
Marketing
Advertising
$50,000.00
TOTAL
$600,000.00

Partnering Individuals, Groups, Etc.:
Another means of reaching students will be to utilize existing groups on campus to advise students of employment opportunities. The groups will receive emails notifying the student members of potential employment opportunities within an area of interest, group, club, or academic society. As an example, the Pre-Med Society will be notified of potential employment opportunities with a hospital, medical center, or physician-related job recruiter. Relevant jobs will be matched with students interested in that field or profession.

Matching Funds:
Various fundraisers shall take place by the groups and/or academic societies whose students will benefit from this program. One example of a potential fundraiser is to hold a “Dollar Auction” wherein items are placed up for bid for $1.00, and the person with the final bid is the winner. If Nova’s Criminal Justice Club wishes to participate in the Employment services, then they would be required to raise funds to help forward this initiative.

Another source of funding would be to apply for Federal Funding through the “Stimulus Package” a/k/a H.R. 5140, by seeking funds to assist individuals in obtaining Eco-Friendly jobs that have been funded. This approach will allow Nova Southeastern University to become a premier academic institution assisting students in obtaining “Green” that are jobs that are good for the environment.

Funding may also be achieved through a grant awarded in September, 2008 to Academic Services from the U.S. Department of Education in the amount of $575,000. While plans to implement this grant may be well underway, this proposal captures an urgent need given today’s increasingly difficult economy: Nova Students need jobs. This university stands nothing to gain by having a high unemployment rate amongst its graduates. Setting this proposed program into motion may not only appeal to students, but parents. Parents who are contemplating which university to select for their child may select the school that is more likely to lead to gainful employment following graduation. Accordingly, this proposal serves as a significant aid to place Nova graduates out in front of a virtual sea of job applicants. Nearly every school in South Florida has a job link website and a job fair. Nova has the potential to do much more.